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The Archaeology of Prehistoric Burnt Mounds in Ireland

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The Archaeology of Prehistoric Burnt Mounds in Ireland The Archaeology of Prehistoric Burnt Mounds in Ireland Alan Hawkes Archaeopress Archaeology Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978 1 78491 986 3 ISBN 978 1 78491 987 0 (e-Pdf) © Archaeopress and Alan Hawkes 2018 Cover: Nick Hogan Front cover: Burnt mound (SMR: CO102-005013) in the townland of Ardgroom Outward, Co. Cork (Photo: Nick Hogan) Back cover: Top – bottom: Drombeg stone-lined trough (Photo: Edward Fahy, courtesy of Dan Breen); reconstructed cooking trough and burnt stone mound (Photo: author); excavation of a trough at Bockagh, Co. Roscommon (Photo: IAC Ltd); heat-shattered/affected stone (Photo: author) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Contents List of figures �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������iii Acknowledgments ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� vi Preface �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� vii CHAPTER 1: BURNT MOUNDS: AN INTRODUCTION ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1 1.1 Pyrolithic technology and burnt mounds in Ireland ........................................................................................... 2 1.2 Burnt mounds: a new direction ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Sources of information ....................................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Book structure................................................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 2: A HISTORY OF BURNT MOUND RESEARCH IN IRELAND ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 11 2.1 The evidence of early Irish literature ................................................................................................................ 11 2.2 Antiquarian interest ........................................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 Approaches during the mid-to-late-twentieth century �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16 2.4 Burnt mounds and infrastructure archaeology .................................................................................................. 18 2.5 Burnt mound discoveries: statistics and distribution ........................................................................................ 20 2.6 Recovery environment ...................................................................................................................................... 25 2.7 Just another burnt mound? ................................................................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER 3: PYROLITHIC TECHNOLOGY: THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT ������������������������������������������������������������������� 33 3.1 Pyrolithic technology as a global phenomenon ................................................................................................ 33 3.2 Prehistoric burnt mounds in Britain.................................................................................................................. 34 3.3 Prehistoric burnt mounds in Northern Europe .................................................................................................. 46 3.4 Pyrolithic technology in indigenous societies .................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER 4: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF BURNT MOUNDS IN IRELAND ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 53 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 53 4.2 Morphology and site layout .............................................................................................................................. 53 4.3 Burnt mounds ................................................................................................................................................... 55 4.4 Hearths and fires ............................................................................................................................................... 64 4.5 Troughs ............................................................................................................................................................. 67 4.6 Water-channels .................................................................................................................................................. 82 4.7 Pits .................................................................................................................................................................... 85 4.8 Wells/cisterns ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 89 4.9 Stone paths and timber trackways .................................................................................................................... 93 4.10 Platforms and working surfaces ..................................................................................................................... 95 4.11 Ancillary structures ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 98 4.12 Other stake and post-built structures ............................................................................................................ 104 4.13 Enclosures .................................................................................................................................................... 108 4.14 Site classification .......................................................................................................................................... 109 4.15 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 114 CHAPTER 5: CHRONOLOGY ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 115 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 115 5.2 The dating of burnt mounds ............................................................................................................................ 115 5.3 Overall chronology ......................................................................................................................................... 119 5.4 The beginnings of the burnt mound tradition ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 120 5.5 The Bronze Age tradition................................................................................................................................ 125 5.6 The Iron Age tradition .................................................................................................................................... 131 5.7 A Medieval tradition? ..................................................................................................................................... 135 5.8 Site histories: phasing and internal chronologies ........................................................................................... 137 5.9 Scenarios of re-use .......................................................................................................................................... 144 5.10 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................. 152 i CHAPTER 6: THE USE AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BURNT MOUNDS ������������������������������������������������������������������ 155 6.1 Introduction: approaches to site function ....................................................................................................... 155 6.2 Literary and archaeological sources ............................................................................................................... 155 6.3 The cooking site theory: practical considerations .......................................................................................... 156 6.4 Cooking facilities ............................................................................................................................................ 162 6.5 Experimentation .............................................................................................................................................
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